Music and social consciousness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Music and social consciousness - Essay Example ntain a balance, these conflicting traditional achievements and the negotiation between the dual pull of past historical significance and present political meaning several new voices from outside the United States has entered in the past and even today one can see their attribute in the contested public sphere, trying to do new justice to African-American expressive culture. They address themselves to the conflict-ridden discursive traditions in the push and pull of ascription and achievement. Individually, these new studies cover much new ground, but when placed in conversation with each other and with past debates, they help us in mapping the territory in which black music acquires its political place and its cultural meaning. Among his impressive achievements of six solo rap albums, over 30 singles, significant roles in six movies and a body of poems anthologized, is his Hit song â€Å"Changes†. Tupac was clearly a performer with multi-dimensional abilities whose contributions to his art deserved to be the best for studying from a variety of disciplinary perceptions. â€Å"The music, sounds, and lyrics from some of Hip Hop’s most talented writers and performers have resulted in what has undeniably become the one cultural institution that urban youth rely on for representation, honesty keeping it real and leadership.† (Walter Edwards) Tupac Shakur’s song â€Å"Changes† presents a reflection of the today’s darker music influence on a life which is suffering in the rough battleground of urban poverty, coupled with the social and political ideas of Black Americans. However his main emphasis is upon the central behaviors which is focused on Blacks, including its rich vernacular language, its hooligan subculture and the crime, violence and nihilism which result from poverty and social neglect. All he has talked about in his song â€Å"Changes† is the humiliating attitude of Americans towards blacks. He focused on two main things, â€Å"Poverty† and â€Å"the fate of

Hume Of the Standard of Taste Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hume Of the Standard of Taste - Essay Example In this essay, I first of all, purpose to discuss what Hume proposes to be the condition for beauty. Secondly, I will demonstrate how an object can be termed as either beautiful or not, based on the proposal. In addition, I will analyze the factors that motivated this proposal by Hume, and lastly, examine whether there is sufficient reason to support Hume’s proposal. What is the condition for being beautiful? Hume is of the opinion that for something to be beautiful, then it must be able to have durability, uniformity, and generality in admiration (I.XXIII.12-13). For example, an object that has been around for many generations and withstood the criticisms leveled against it can be said to be truly beautiful. However, an object that was once considered beautiful but has since faded into history cannot be termed as beautiful since it lacks durability. In as far as general admiration is concerned; a beautiful thing tends to gain appreciation from people of multiple cultures all over the world. From Hume’s point of view, the observer’s mind must be at an ideal state of serenity and free of external hindrances and prejudice, while judging the beauty of an object (I.XXIII.11). In addition, Hume states that the observer must also pay very close attention to the object by focusing all thought on the object in order to study its finer details (I.XXIII.11). How does a beautiful object differ from one that is not beautiful? At the outset, Hume seems to agree to the fact that the beauty of an object only lies in the eyes of the observer. For example, Hume writes that a man of sense in as far as arts are concerned is more likely to differ with a man who has no sense of art, concerning the beauty of an object (I.XXIII.23). Similarly, according to Hume, a young man is more likely to consider tender and affectionate images as more beautiful (I.XXIII.30). On the other hand, Hume writes that an old man may find beauty in philosophical and wise teachings tha t teach on the value of life (I.XXIII.30). In Hume’s opinion, beauty can only be achieved if the human mind is free of all internal obstructions and external hindrances. Drawing form these expressions, it is clear that Hume perceives beauty as not stemming from the qualities of an object, but by the capacity of the object to stir up certain sentiments in the observer. Hume gives the example of how two of Sancho’s kinsmen were asked to give their opinion regarding the excellence of a hogshead (I.XXIII.16). Everyone knew that the wine was of superior quality, yet, when the two men tasted it, although both agreed that it was good, one noted that there was a bit of leather taste in it, while the other one noted that there was a silver taste in the wine. Hume goes on to narrate that the two men were ridiculed for their judgment, yet when the hogshead was emptied, therein lay an old key tied ton a leather thong (I.XXIII.16). In reference to this example, it is clear that alt hough people may unanimously decide that something is beautiful; there are critics who may find flaws by carefully studying the object under observation. What is Hume’s motivation for his proposal on beauty? Firstly, Hume tends to draw his motivation for proposing that beauty is an effect on the mind from the fact that beauty is valued by everyone, while ugliness or deformity is usually a repulsive characteristic. Nonetheless, different people have different opinions regarding which objects are beautiful and which ones are not. Secondly, from Hume’

Book Banning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Book Banning - Essay Example One could always come out with the excuses that a specific work of literature or a book could destabilize the society or may have a drastic affect on the impressionable minds (Nocera, 1982).. However, the very act of banning books violates the freedom of speech guaranteed in the constitution and amounts to the deplorable act of suppressing an idea. No free society can allow for the suppression of original and innovative ideas. Freedom and creativity is primarily about allowing for a free play of ideas in a nation and a society, and the act of censorship or the suppression of ideas amounts to intellectual and academic elitism or for that matter orthodoxy. Books should never be banned, especially in the multicultural societies, which are always open to relative and multiple interpretations of ideas. In a free society, every idea and ideology has the right to find its place in the print. Just because a vast section of the society or a majority group does not particularly agree with an idea, this in no way allows for constraining or hampering the dissemination of an idea cherished and liked by a minority part of the society. Certainly, it does not mean that there exists nothing like bad or evil ideas. However, even if an idea is bad or evil in its ramifications, the censorship or banning of such an idea not only bolsters its hold over the society, but hits hard at the very fundamental ethos of the democratic societies like free speech, tolerance and the acceptance of off beat or innovative ideas and views. Ideas should be counteracted, and opposed by ideas and not by autocratic and coercive means like statutory provisions and government al or state regulation (Nocera, 1982). Such ethos not only allow a society to be ever fresh, innovative and vibrant, but usher in a quintessentially tolerant and catholic intellectual atmosphere, where a free flow and interaction of multiple ideas leads to growth, development and a continual revival of the society. A controversial work of literature always has the potential to give way to debates and discussions in the social arena, which is the hallmark of all the free and democratic societies.To some extent, the banning of the books is justified, especially in the contemporary scenarios marred by a widespread proliferation of hate ideologies and international terrorism. However, the kind of books that need to be banned are the ones that promote hate and intolerance against a particular section of the society, that teach people to operate lethal weapons and how to make bombs, that intend to perpetrate violence and abuse, that threaten or intimidate the masses or that discernibly an d unambiguously intend to jeopardize social, religious and political harmony and tolerance. Yet, the very act of censorship and book banning cold be carried beyond the limits of reason and understanding by framing or dubbing the diverse or varied interpretations of ideas as being blasphemous, anti-social, pervert or unpatriotic. So its better that the national conscience and the state focus their power on obstructing and suppressing the obviously violent and intolerant groups and texts,

Legal Rights Essay Example for Free

Legal Rights Essay Criminals have legal rights during trial procedures. Without these rights there would be so much confusion and controversy in the court system today. There are four of them that I will give a brief summarization of and explain to you the consequences that could possibly happen if these legal rights were no longer upheld in the court system today. They are; the right to confront witnesses, the right to an impartial jury, the right to counsel at trial, and last but not least the right to be competent trial. The right to confront witnesses is legal right. The sixth amendment gives the defendant the right to be confronted by the witnesses against them (Larry J. Siegel, 2012, 2010). This basically gives the right for the defendant to have the witness me to court and give them the ability to look the witness right in the eye. This also gives the defendant’s lawyer the right to question the witness. If this right wasn’t upheld then there would probably be a lot of false statements or accusations in the trial. It would also be hard to confirm whether or not the witness it telling the truth, because anyone can pick up a piece of paper and write down what they want to, but when it comes to looking that person right in the eye it makes a whole lot of difference, because it gives the defense a chance to look at the body language of the witness and also, when it comes to the matching up of the statements, the witness could write down something, but then when it comes to testifying if they are lying then what they wrote down and what they are actually saying could be totally different and if this right was no longer upheld there could be innocent people going to jail or a lot of criminals getting away with the crime that they have committed. Also if the legal right wasn’t upheld how could the jury or the judge go off of a written statement that could have be written by anyone, if this right wasn’t upheld, then there would be so many written statements on both sides, because they wouldn’t have to testify during trial, it would be a whole lot easier for people to get off, because it would basically be he say, she say information, but the fact of having to actually go to court and testify under oath, puts you in a whole entire ball field so it helps in a lot of ways, because not only does it help the d defense but it helps the prosecutors also. The right to an impartial jury basically means that, the jurors who they select for the trial know absolutely no one who is on the trial, none of the attorneys, the judge, the defendant or the plaintiff. They also can’t know anything about the trial. No one on the jury can be biased. If this legal right wasn’t upheld then the ruling of the case, wouldn’t be fair and there would be a lot of people taking different sides just because of the person that they know. It wouldn’t be fair to the defendant or the plaintiff, because if the jury knew something about the case or knew of the person who committed the crime or of the person who the crime was committed upon then the jury would have mixed feelings and would probably never reach a decision which could cause a hung jury, which would probably let a criminal walk free. Also if anyone in the jury knew the judge, the prosecutor or the defense lawyer and they worked one of their cases or convicted them of a crime previously then they would probably just choose a side out of spite. Having an impartial jury is not only good for the defendant, but also for the prosecutor and plaintiff also, because if there was someone on the jury that had something against the plaintiff or prosecutor then they would probably just choose in favor of the defense just because of the grudge that they had against that party. The right to counsel means that the defendant has the right to have the assistance to counsel in the defendants defense and if they can’t afford one then one would be appointed to them by the court. If this right wasn’t upheld then there would be a lot of cases that would probably be ruled in favor of the plaintiff just because of the lack of knowledge of the defendant. Also there would probably be a lot of criminals behind bars, because then they wouldn’t have a lawyer to speak on there be half and try to work out a lighter sentence on their behalf. There probably would not be as many probation officers, because with the defendant’s being locked up then the options of them having probation or community service would be cut out of the picture. With a lawyer they help out the defendant’s a lot in trials, because the lawyer can work with the prosecutor and come up with many other options other than jail time. They can also help the defendant and show them ways and other things to do before trial to help them get a lesser or lighter sentence. Without the criminals having the right to counsel then there would be a lot of wrongful accusations on the defendant’s side also it would be easier for the jury to side with the prosecutor because with the lack of knowledge the defendant probably wouldn’t be able to get the information that they need for trial together. The right to be competent at trial means that in order to stand trial a criminal defendant must be in there right state of mind and understand the nature and extent of the legal proceedings. Also if the defendant is considered mentally unstable then the trial must be postponed until treatment renders him capable of participating in his own defense (Larry J. Siegel, 2012, 2010). If this right was no longer upheld then every trial would be unfair and a lot of mentally unstable people would be in jail instead of getting proper treatment in the right facility. Also if it wasn’t upheld then the defendant wouldn’t be able to render the treatment that he/she needs to be able to stand trial. Also the criminal would probably try to act as his own counsel which, because they aren’t in there right state of mind and say or do things that he/she wouldn’t understand, because they aren’t in there right state of mind and would they would get a harsher sentence for the crime. There are so many things that could go wrong if these legal rights weren’t in place. There are many cases that has happened and that’s why we have these legal rights to day. In my opinion I feel that these rights are in effect for good reasons, because regardless of the person everyone should have rights. Without these legal rights there would be so much corruption and wrong doing in the courts today.

Im Not Scared by Niccolò Ammaniti Essay -- Niccolò Ammaniti Im Not Sc

â€Å"I’m not scared explores the notion that only the strong will thrive.† Discuss. Thrive v.i. grow well; flourish, prosper. The characters in ‘I’m not scared’ are living, not thriving. They’re all weak in different ways and their strength is dying slowly. All of the characters have an individual battle with weakness. Many of the characters appear to be strong but are really just helpless beings, existing in a place where the strength comes from violence and abuse. Often the truly strong characters are the innocent children, who are forced to grow up because of the adult irresponsibility that surrounds them and the burdens placed upon them by the people they trust.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michele Amitrano is a young Italian boy, who is taken advantage of, mentally and emotionally, by the people he loves and trusts. He is bullied by the local children, especially Skull, a troubled boy that follows in the footsteps of his misfit brother Felice. Michele is betrayed by his father and faced with one of the hardest decisions he would ever have to make. Although Michele deals with his situation well, he is the most vulnerable character in the novel because his family’s shame is placed upon him. When Michele’s father Pino, tells Michele that he must stand by his family and remain silent about their involvement in a kidnapping, Michele is plagued by guilt, especially since he developed a friendship with the kidnapped Prince Filippo. It is inevitable that Michele will burst inside because of the burd...

Importance of television in our life Essay

Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, as initially produced, consists of suitable polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds plus water. Forms of polyisoprene that are useful as natural rubbers are classified aselastomers. Currently, rubber is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from certain trees. The latex is a sticky, milky colloid drawn off by making incisions into the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called â€Å"tapping†. The latex then is refined into rubber ready for commercial processing. Natural rubber is used extensively in many applications and products, either alone or in combination with other materials. In most of its useful forms, it has a large stretch ratio, high resilience, and is extremely waterproof.[1] Varieties[edit] The major commercial source of natural rubber latex is the Parà ¡ rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis), a member of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae. This species is widely used because it grows well under cultivation and a properly managed tree responds to wounding by producing more latex for several years. Many other plants produce forms of latex rich in isoprene polymers, though not all produce usable forms of polymer as easily as the Parà ¡ rubber tree does; some of them require more elaborate processing to produce anything like usable rubber, and most are more difficult to tap. Some produce other desirable materials, for example gutta-percha (Palaquium gutta)[2] and chicle from Manilkara species. Others that have been commercially exploited, or at least have shown promise as sources of rubber, include the rubber fig (Ficus elastica), Panama rubber tree (Castilla elastica), various spurges (Euphorbia spp.), lettuce (Lactuca species), the related Scorzonera tau-saghyz, various Taraxacum species, including common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) and Russian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz), and guayule (Parthenium argentatum). The term gum rubber is sometimes applied to the tree-obtained version of natural rubber in order to distinguish it from the synthetic version.[1] Discovery of commercial potential[edit] The Para rubber tree is indigenous to South America. Charles Marie de La Condamine is credited with introducing samples of rubber to the Acadà ©mie Royale des Sciences of France in 1736.[3] In 1751, he presented a paper by Franà §ois Fresneau to the Acadà ©mie (eventually published in 1755) which described many of the properties of rubber. This has been referred to as the first scientific paper on rubber.[3] In England, Joseph Priestley, in 1770, observed that a piece of the material was extremely good for rubbing off pencil marks on paper, hence the name â€Å"rubber†. Later, it slowly made its way around England. South America remained the main source of the limited amounts of latex rubber used during much of the 19th century. In 1876, Henry Wickham gathered thousands of Para rubber tree seeds from Brazil, and these were germinated in Kew Gardens, England. The seedlings were then sent to India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Indonesia, Singapore, and British Malaya. Malaya (now Malaysia) was later to become the biggest producer of rubber. In the early 1900s, the Congo Free State in Africa was also a significant source of natural rubber latex, mostly gathered by forced labor. Liberia and Nigeria also started production of rubber. In India, commercial cultivation of natural rubber was introduced by the British planters, although the experimental efforts to grow rubber on a commercial scale in India were initiated as early as 1873 at the Botanical Gardens, Calcutta. The first commercial Hevea plantations in India were established at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902. In Singapore and Malaya, commercial production of rubber was heavily promoted by Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley, who served as the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1911. He distributed rubber seeds to many planters and developed the first technique for tapping trees for latex without causing serious harm to the tree.[4]Because of his very fervent promotion of this crop, he is popularly remembered by the nickname â€Å"Mad Ridley†.[5] Properties[edit] Rubber latex Rubber exhibits unique physical and chemical properties. Rubber’s stress-strain behavior exhibits the Mullins effect and the Payne effect, and is often modeled as hyperelastic. Rubber strain crystallizes. Owing to the presence of a double bond in each repeat unit, natural rubber is susceptible to vulcanisation and sensitive to ozone cracking. The two main solvents for rubber are turpentine and naphtha (petroleum). The former has been in use since 1764 when Franà §ois Fresnau made the discovery. Giovanni Fabbroni is credited with the discovery of naphtha as a rubber solvent in 1779. Because rubber does not dissolve easily, the material is finely divided by shredding prior to its immersion. An ammonia solution can be used to prevent the coagulation of raw latex while it is being transported from its collection site. Elasticity[edit] In most elastic materials, such as metals used in springs, the elastic behavior is caused by bond distortions. When force is applied, bond lengths deviate from the (minimum energy) equilibrium and strain energy is stored electrostatically. Rubber is often assumed to behave in the same way, but this is a poor description. Rubber is a curious material because, unlike in metals, strain energy is stored thermally. In its relaxed state, rubber consists of long, coiled-up chains. When rubber is stretched, the chains are taut. Their kinetic energy is released as heat. The entropy and temperature increases during elongation but decreases during relaxation. This change in entropy is related to the changes in degrees of freedom. Relaxation of a stretched rubber band is thus driven by a decrease in entropy and temperature, and the force experienced is a result of the cooling of the material being converted to potential energy. Rubber relaxation isendothermic, and for this reason the force exerted by a stretched piece of rubber increases with temperature. The material undergoes adiabatic cooling during contraction. This property of rubber can easily be verified by holding a stretched rubber band to one’s lips and relaxing it. Stretching of a rubber band is in some ways opposite to compression(although both undergo higher levels of thermal energy of an ideal gas), and relaxation is opposed to gas expansion (Note: rubber bands last longer in the cold). A compressed and heated gas also exhibits â€Å"elastic† properties, for instance inside an inflated car tire. The fact that stretching is equivalent to compression is counterintuitive, but it makes sense if rubber is viewed as a one-dimensional gas, plus it is attached to other molecules. Stretching and heat increase the â€Å"space† available to each section of chain, because the molecules are pulled apart. Vulcanization of rubber creates disulfide bonds between chains, so it limits the degrees of freedom. The result is that the chains tighten more quickly for a given strain, thereby increasing the elastic force constant and making rubber harder and less extensible. When cooled below the glass transition temperature, the quasifluid chain segments â€Å"freeze† into fixed geometries and the rubber abruptly loses its elastic properties, although the process is reversible. This property it shared by most elastomers. At very low temperatures, rubber is rather brittle. This critical temperature is the reason winter tires use a softer version of rubber than normal tires. The failing rubber o-ring seals that contributed to the cause of the Challenger disaster were thought to have cooled below their critical temperature; the disaster happened on an unusually cold day. The gas molecules in the rubber were too close to their bound solid molecules(a partial phase change that separated the rubber molecules may have occurred), allowing the rubber to take on a more solid shape(a partial phase change to a more liquid and molecularly separated form would not be good, either). Heated gas has a higher energy, and rubber must be kept at specific temperatures and probably should not be used on vehicles that undergo extreme temperature changes. Chemical makeup[edit] Latex is the polymer cis-1,4-polyisoprene – with a molecular weight of 100,000 to 1,000,000 daltons. Typically, a small percentage (up to 5% of dry mass) of other materials, such as proteins, fatty acids, resins, and inorganic materials (salts) are found in natural rubber. Polyisoprene can also be created synthetically, producing what is sometimes referred to as â€Å"synthetic natural rubber†, but the synthetic and natural routes are completely different.[1] Chemical structure of cis-polyisoprene, the main constituent of natural rubber: Synthetic cis-polyisoprene and natural cis-polyisoprene are derived from different precursors. Some natural rubber sources, such as gutta-percha, are composed of trans-1,4-polyisoprene, a structural isomer that has similar, but not identical, properties. Natural rubber is an elastomer and a thermoplastic. Once the rubber is vulcanized, it will turn into a thermoset. Most rubber in everyday use is vulcanized to a point where it shares properties of both; i.e., if it is heated and cooled, it is degraded but not destroyed. The final properties of a rubber item depend not just on the polymer, but also on modifiers and fillers, such as carbon black, factice, whiting, and a host of others. Biosynthesis[edit] Rubber particles are formed in the cytoplasm of specialized latex-producing cells called laticifers within rubber plants.[6] Rubber particles are surrounded by a single phospholipid membrane with hydrophobic tails pointed inward. The membrane allows biosynthetic proteins to be sequestered at the surface of the growing rubber particle, which allows new monomeric units to be added from outside the biomembrane, but within the lacticifer. The rubber particle is an enzymatically active entity that contains three layers of material, the rubber particle, a biomembrane, and free monomeric units. The biomembrane is held tightly to the rubber core due to the high negative charge along the double bonds of the rubber polymer backbone.[7] Free monomeric units and conjugated proteins make up the outer layer. The rubber precursor is isopentenyl pyrophosphate (an allylic compound), which elongates by Mg2+-dependent condensation by the action of rubber transferase. The monomer adds to the pyrophosphate end of the growing polymer.[8] The process displaces the terminal high-energy pyrophosphate. The reaction produces a cis polymer. The initiation step is catalyzed by prenyltransferase, which converts three monomers of isopentenyl pyrophosphate into farnesyl pyrophosphate.[9] The farnesyl pyrophosphate can bind to rubber transferase to elongate a new rubber polymer. The required isopentenyl pyrophosphate is obtained from the mevalonate pathway, which is derives from acetyl-CoA in the cytosol. In plants, isoprene pyrophosphate can also be obtained from 1-deox-D-xyulose-5-phosphate/2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate pathway within plasmids.[10] The relative ratio of the farnesyl pyrophosphate initiator unit and isoprenyl pyrophosphate elongation monomer determines the rate of new particle synthesis versus elongation of existing particles. Though rubber is known to be produced by only one enzyme, extracts of latex have shown numerous small molecular weight proteins with unknown function. The proteins possibly serve as cofactors, as the synthetic rate decreases with complete removal.[11] Current sources[edit] Close to 21 million tons of rubber were produced in 2005, of which approximately 42% was natural. Since the bulk of the rubber produced is of the synthetic variety, which is derived from petroleum, the price of natural rubber is determined, to a large extent, by the prevailing global price of crude oil.[12][13] Today, Asia is the main source of natural rubber, accounting for about 94% of output in 2005. The three largest producing countries, Thailand, Indonesia (2.4m tons)[14] and Malaysia, together account for around 72% of all natural rubber production. Natural rubber is not cultivated widely in its native continent of South America due to the existence of South American leaf blight, and other natural predators of the rubber tree. Cultivation[edit] Rubber is generally cultivated in large plantations. See the coconut shell used in collecting latex, in plantations in Kerala, India Rubber latex is extracted from rubber trees. The economic life period of rubber trees in plantations is around 32 years – up to 7 years of immature phase and about 25 years of productive phase. The soil requirement of the plant is generally well-drained, weathered soil consisting of laterite, lateritic types, sedimentary types, nonlateritic red, or alluvial soils. The climatic conditions for optimum growth of rubber trees are: Rainfall of around 250 cm evenly distributed without any marked dry season and with at least 100 rainy days per year Temperature range of about 20 to 34 °C, with a monthly mean of 25 to 28 °C High atmospheric humidity of around 80% Bright sunshine amounting to about 2000 hours per year at the rate of six hours per day throughout the year Absence of strong winds Many high-yielding clones have been developed for commercial planting. These clones yield more than 2,000 kg of dry rubber per hectare per year, when grown under ideal conditions. Field coagula[edit] Mixed field coagula Smallholder’s lump at a remilling factory There are four types of field coagula, â€Å"cuplump†, â€Å"treelace†, â€Å"smallholders’ lump† and â€Å"earth scrap†. Each has significantly different properties.[15] Cuplump is the coagulated material found in the collection cup when the tapper next visits the tree to tap it again. It arises from latex clinging to the walls of the cup after the latex was last poured into the bucket, and from late-dripping latex exuded before the latex-carrying vessels of the tree become blocked. It is of higher purity and of greater value than the other three types. Treelace is the coagulum strip that the tapper peels off the previous cut before making a new cut. It usually has higher copper and manganese contents than cuplump. Both copper and manganese are pro-oxidants and can lower the physical properties of the dry rubber. Smallholders’ lump is produced by smallholders who collect rubber from trees a long way away from the nearest factory. Many Indonesian smallholders, who grow paddy in remote areas, tap dispersed trees on their way to work in the paddy fields and collect the latex (or the coagulated latex) on their way home. As it is often impossible to preserve the latex sufficiently to get it to a factory that processes latex in time for it to be used to make high quality products, and as the latex would anyway have coagulated by the time it reached the factory, the smallholder will coagulate it by any means available, in any container available. Some smallholders use small containers, buckets etc., but often the latex is coagulated in holes in the ground, which are usually (but not always) lined with plastic. Acidic materials and fermented fruit juices are used to coagulate the latex – a form of assisted biological coagulation. Little care is taken to exclude twigs, leaves, and even bark from the lumps that are formed, which may also include treelace collected by the smallholder. Earth scrap is the material that gathers around the base of the tree. It arises from latex overflowing from the cut and running down the bark of the tree, from rain flooding a collection cup containing latex, and from spillage from tappers’ buckets during collection. It contains soil and other contaminants, and has variable rubber content depending on the amount of contaminants mixed with it. Earth scrap is collected by the field workers two or three times a year and may be cleaned in a scrap-washer to recover the rubber, or sold off to a contractor who will clean it and recover the rubber. It is of very low quality and under no circumstances should it be included in block rubber or brown crepe. Processing[edit] Removing coagulum from coagulating troughs The latex will coagulate in the cups if kept for long. The latex has to be collected before coagulation. The collected latex, â€Å"field latex†, is transferred into coagulation tanks for the preparation of dry rubber or transferred into air-tight containers with sieving for ammoniation. Ammoniation is necessary to preserve the latex in colloidal state for long. Latex is generally processed into either latex concentrate for manufacture of dipped goods or it can be coagulated under controlled, clean conditions using formic acid. The coagulated latex can then be processed into the higher-grade, technically specified block rubbers such as SVR 3L or SVR CV or used to produce Ribbed Smoke Sheet grades. Naturally coagulated rubber (cup lump) is used in the manufacture of TSR10 and TSR20 grade rubbers. The processing of the rubber for these grades is a size reduction and cleaning process to remove contamination and prepare the material for the final stage of drying.[16] The dried material is then baled and palletized for storage and shipment in various methods of transportation. Transportation[edit] Natural rubber latex is shipped from factories in south-west Asia, South America, and North Africa to destinations around the world. As the cost of natural rubber has risen significantly, the shipping methods which offer the lowest cost per unit of weight are preferred. Depending on the destination, warehouse availability, and transportation conditions, some methods are more suitable to certain buyers than others. In international trade, latex rubber is mostly shipped in 20-foot ocean containers. Inside the ocean container, various types of smaller containers are used by factories to store latex rubber.[17] Uses[edit] Compression molded (cured)rubber boots before the flashesare removed Contemporary manufacturing[edit] Around 25 million tonnes of rubber is produced each year, of which 42 percent is natural rubber. The remainder is synthetic rubber derived from petrochemical sources. Around 70 percent of the world’s natural rubber is used in tires. The top end of latex production results in latex products such as surgeons’ gloves, condoms, balloons and other relatively high-value products. The mid-range which comes from the technically-specified natural rubber materials ends up largely in tires but also in conveyor belts, marine products and miscellaneous rubber goods. Natural rubber offers good elasticity, while synthetic materials tend to offer better resistance to environmental factors such as oils, temperature, chemicals or ultraviolet light and suchlike. â€Å"Cured rubber† is rubber which has been compounded and subjected to the vulcanisation process which creates cross-links within the rubber matrix. Prehistoric uses[edit] The first use of rubber was by the Olmecs, who centuries later passed on the knowledge of natural latex from the Hevea tree in 1600 BC to the ancient Mayans. They boiled the harvested latex to make a ball for a Mesoamerican ballgame.[18] Pre-World War II manufacturing[edit] Other significant uses of rubber are door and window profiles, hoses, belts, gaskets, matting, flooring, and dampeners (antivibration mounts) for the automotive industry. Gloves (medical, household and industrial) and toy balloons are also large consumers of rubber, although the type of rubber used is concentrated latex. Significant tonnage of rubber is used as adhesives in many manufacturing industries and products, although the two most noticeable are thepaper and the carpet industries. Rubber is also commonly used to make rubber bands and pencil erasers. Pre-World War II textile applications[edit] Rubber produced as a fiber, sometimes called ‘elastic’, has significant value for use in the textile industry because of its excellent elongation and recovery properties. For these purposes, manufactured rubber fiber is made as either an extruded round fiber or rectangular fibers that are cut into strips from extruded film. Because of its low dye acceptance, feel and appearance, the rubber fiber is either covered by yarn of another fiber or directly woven with other yarns into the fabric. In the early 1900s, for example, rubber yarns were used in foundation garments. While rubber is still used in textile manufacturing, its low tenacity limits its use in lightweight garments because latex lacks resistance to oxidizing agents and is damaged by aging, sunlight, oil, and perspiration. Seeking a way to address these shortcomings, the textile industry has turned to neoprene (polymer of chloroprene), a type of synthetic rubber, as well as another more commonly used elastomer fiber, spandex (also known as elastane), because of their superiority to rubber in both strength and durability. Vulcanization[edit] Main article: Vulcanization Natural rubber is often vulcanized, a process by which the rubber is heated and sulfur, peroxide or bisphenol are added to improve resistance and elasticity, and to prevent it from perishing. The development of vulcanization is most closely associated with Charles Goodyear in 1839.[19] Before World War II era manufacturing, carbon black was often used as an additive to rubber to improve its strength, especially in vehicle tires. Today, all vehicle tires are made of synthetic rubbers. Allergic reactions[edit] Main article: Latex allergy Some people have a serious latex allergy, and exposure to natural latex rubber products such as latex gloves can cause anaphylactic shock. The antigenic proteins found in Hevealatex may be deliberately reduced (though not eliminated)[20] through processing. Latex from non-Hevea sources, such as Guayule, can be used without allergic reaction by persons with an allergy to Hevea latex.[21] Some allergic reactions are not to the latex itself, but from residues of chemicals used to accelerate the cross-linking process. Although this may be confused with an allergy to latex, it is distinct from it, typically taking the form of Type IV hypersensitivity in the presence of traces of specific processing chemicals.[20][22]

Reflection Paper St Dominic Essay

â€Å"Do not weep. I shall be of more use to you after death than I ever did in life.† In the movie, Dominic, Light of the Church, features St. Dominic’s life, his failures and successes, his contributions to the church as well as to those people around him. He already wonders why is it that there is a war, that there are people who hungers and that there are sufferings in the world since he was still a child. This led to a helping hand when he was studying in becoming a priest. You can also see in the movie that St. Dominic has a pure and kind heart that nourishes, motivates and inspires others’ souls. LMC St. Dominic said that the kind of preaching they offer differs from other kinds of preaching because when they teach the word of God, they deliver it with a heart, pure faith and sacrifice. I think St. Dominic founded the order of preachers because he started the act of telling others the existence of God together with his fellow priests.There are four pillars of Dominican life. These are the prayer, community, study and preaching. Prayer can always be seen in St. Dominic. He always prays for the poor and for the sufferings of the people. Community- the part when the war had began. St. Dominic united the people at that time and it defines the real meaning of community. Study- this is where St. Dominic is studying to become a priest. And preaching- he tells other people the glory and goodness of God. LMC St. Dominic was influenced by many circumstances at that time. The two persons that had great impact on him are Bishop Don Diego, and his mother, Jane of Aza. Because of these persons, he was greatly supported, and his profession of becoming a priest was very successful. LMC There is only one lesson I got in this movie—that is to love God. This love to God branches out to loving others, sacrificing one’s life to others, patience, sincerity, willingness to help others, and many more that St. Dominic exhibited during his short but fulfilling life here on earth. LMC As a young person, and inspired by St. Dominic, I can bring the gospel of Jesus to others by simply telling other person the greatness of the good news, having a blog on the internet defining the miracles that happened to me, that may lead to as motivation and inspiration to others. I could also help others by giving them what I have. Being a good daughter is also one. Doing the responsibilities as a student, and praying as I have never prayed sincerely and purely like what St. Dominic did for others.